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Yesterday, I threw a little birthday get-together for Becky. I invited some of our friends over to go bowling at the Bowl-O-Mat in Beverly, and then back to our apartment to hang out and have some food.
This was the first time we had visited Beverly’s Bowl-O-Mat, and I have to say that it’s definitely a lot more fun than it looks from the outside (I failed to take any outside pics, but suffice to say, the place looks pretty run down). The Bowl-O-Mat does [candlepin bowling](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candlepin_bowling), the traditional New England bowling style. It’s quite a different game from [ten-pin bowling](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten-pin_bowling), for those of you who have never experienced it. Being from Ohio originally, I was pretty weirded out when I first played a game of candlepin several years ago. Bowling balls that you can hold in the palm of your hand, skinny little pins, three balls rolled per frame, dead pins not being cleared away between rolls… weird. It’s actually a more difficult game than ten-pin, because the ball is not able to knock over as many pins at once. It requires a bit more precision. Anyway, the overall feel of the game and the atmosphere it creates is more or less the same as ten-pin bowling, so it’s still lots of fun.
In attendance at the party were [Chris, Naomi, and Carl](http://members.verizon.net/mocasonline/), [Jenny](http://www.livejournal.com/users/raingirl3179/), [Corey](http://corey.prwdot.org/), [Jeremy and Angela](http://www.thebiggspicture.org/), and, of course, Becky and I. We have [the evening’s photos](http://prwdot.org/gallery2/v/events/2006/bowling_with_becky/) online, as well. Becky had a great time getting to hang out with everyone, and of course she loves bowling, so all in all it was a great day!
Update
Jenny [blogs it](http://www.livejournal.com/users/raingirl3179/108042.html).
Being a lifetime candlepin bowling I have to admit I was a little weirded out by the the big balls with holes in them and the curvy pins… I’ll admit.. I still haven’t tried ten pin.
Yea, those East Coasters are whimps!! We did that toothpick “bowling” stuff with my cousins one year. It takes real men to handle a real bowling ball. Maybe that’s why they’re all blue staters out that way. They turn blue when they have to do anything that involves physical energy. Why out here in Ahia, we tip those cows, milk them pigs and chickens and then walk 10 miles (minimum) to work or school in our Carharts, excepting when we have to bring in the combines in to town for repairs that we can’t do in our garage , all before 5a.m. ! Hang in there Peter, don’t turn over to the Darkside. We’ll ship some real bowling pins and balls out to you!!
PS- Do you know there’s a Polka called “Grab Your Balls and Let’s Go Bowling Polka”?
that’s so much fun. i love that place. When we lived on Bridge Street in 1992, my daughter was about a month old, and my husband told me and my sister to go out and have some fun for an hour or so — before the baby woke up and needed to nurse. So bowl-o-rama was right down the street. we went and had a wicked good time. Doug called, I went home, we fed the baby, and then all four of us (jess included) went back. Jess slept the entire time. i had no idea bowling could soothe a baby.
we had a blast and a half.
glad you had fun! happy birthday again becky!
Bec, you ROCK for wearing the sticker that I sent in your card! Woo hoo for you! How much do I wish I could have been there??!?!?!? Well, we’ll just have to do something fun the next time I do see you! SMACK!
Jenn, I loved that sticker! And so did Carl…he tried to eat it off of me 🙂
I’m totally weirded out by “big ball” bowling. I am always afraid I’m going to get my fingers stuck in the holes and pull them out of their sockets when I throw the ball. A bunch of my friends and I used to bowl a lot and would always ask, “Big balls or little balls tonight?”
beforegirl: That’s why you select a ball with holes that are large enough so that your fingers don’t get stuck, and small enough so that it’s easy for you to hold. I’ve never heard of someone getting their fingers ripped off by a bowling ball.
Before girl, I too was once afraid of Ten-pin bowling. It has only been in the last couple years that I’ve even tried it. I was afraid of my fingers getting caught in the holes too!
After trying 10pin I still like Candlepin better. I hated having to choose a ball to use… with candlepin there’s only one choice… maybe I like it better because it is what I’m used to.
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